Astrology: Is Your Destiny in the Stars?

What is the purpose of the Sun, Moon and stars? What

are they made of? Where did they

come from?

The Sun is the most obvious

object of veneration to primitive

peoples.

It takes no great sophistication to perceive

that the Sun is responsible for seasonal

changes and that all life on Earth is dependent

on its heat. What could be more natural than to

regard this beneficent body as a god? And

from the deification of the Sun it is a short step

to the deification of the Moon and stars.

o The first thing a community would notice would be the

alternation of day and night.

o Next, they would observe the solar year with its

changing seasons.

o The members of the community would be aware that

there was a high point of summer and a low point of

winter, and also that there was a half-way point

between winter and summer and between summer and

winter.

o These points are what we would now call the solstices

and the equinoxes.

The next thing that a simple community

would become aware of would be the

fact that there are approximately twelve

lunar cycles in the solar year.

In dividing up the year, it would be

natural, therefore, to divide it into twelve

parts.

The next question is: how would one

characterise these twelve parts?

This is where the stars would come in. At first the

Babylonians marked the stages of the year by

identifying them with particular stars that rose at

different seasons. This proved to be unsatisfactory

since the stars were unpredictable in the times at

which they were visible. They then hit on the

method of identifying the twelve months with twelve

different constellations along the ecliptic. It was this

system which developed into that of the zodiacal

signs.

Varaha Mihira, is one of the most revered arbiters in

matters of Indian astrology. He lived in the sixth

century AD. Like Ptolemy, he summarised all the

astronomical and astrological knowledge of his time.

Under the influence of Greek astrology and

mythology, the Indian gods were widely adapted to

those of the Greek pantheon, and the days of the

week were named after the planets. The twelve signs

of the Indian zodiac are also mostly translations of

the Greek signs, and their characteristics and

properties were borrowed from the Greek tradition.

The system of the houses also entered, under

Hellenic influence, into Hindu astrology. Following

the Western pattern, the houses were related to the

affairs of everyday life.

The first house governed the native's body; the

second his material possessions; the third his

relatives; the fourth his dwelling, and so on.

But in addition to these Greek elements there were a

number of concepts which were purely Indian.

One of these was the doctrine of Karma and

reincarnation which became one of the fundamental

teachings of Hindu astrology. The Karma is the factor

which determines the progress of the soul

through its various incarnations.

According to Knappich, Karma appears in the

following three aspects: first, as Sanchita, the sum

or result of acts committed in the previous

incarnation; which are subject both to the influence

of the previous life and to the exercise of free will in

the present one; thirdly, as Agami, future, unrealised

acts. Thus the progress of the soul from one

incarnation to another is conditioned by a mixture of

free will, Karma and fate. Astrology was widely used

by the Hindus to determine what stage a man's soul

had reached.

One account of the practice of astrology in India is to

be found in a book by the eleventh-century Persian

traveller Alberuni, who entered India with the Muslim

armies. Alberuni was a distinguished astrologer in his

own right and his main work The Elements of

Astrology is admired to this day. Alberuni's India

contains a detailed examination of Hindu astrology.

Although himself a Muslim, Alberuni is careful to treat

the Hindu beliefs with respect, and writes of their

practices withgreat understanding.

After Alberuni's time, Indian astrology came

increasingly under Western influences, the Greek

infiltrations having been superseded by Muslim.

Modern Indian astrology, however, still retains

such individual features as the lunar mansions and

the concept of Karma.

The Planet, our earth, is but a single function of the Solar

System which stands intimately related and dependent

upon other bodies and systems, thus the natural

universe is bound together. There are various kinds of

dispositions and peoples which are produced by the

constant revolutions of the solar bodies and celestial

influences which give certain strong natural tendencies

to the character.

We are all aware that Summer, Winter, Spring and

Autumn each affect us differently, each

awakening its own train of thoughts and

emotions.

It would be absurd to to suppose that all these

influences are not governed by a regular law of

nature.

What is Astrology?

ASTROLOGY

A type of divination

based on the

theory that the

positions and

movements of the

stars, planets, sun,

and moon at the

time of a person’s

birth have direct

influence on a

person’s life.

Zodiac

One of the keys of

astrology is the zodiac. In

western astrology, the

zodiac refers to twelve

zones in the sky and each

zone has a star

constellation that originally

fell within its zone.

Each zone has a name

(such as Gemini, Taurus,

Leo” etc), and each zone

has a symbol.

A horoscope is a forecast

based upon astrology.

Horoscope Compatibility Matching (Based on Astrology)

• A first step in arranging marriage for majority of Indians is

ascertaining the compatibility of horoscopes of prospective

husband and wife. This process, also known as kundali milan or

guna milap, is followed extensively in the arranged marriage

system in India The Horoscope or Birth-chart (popularly known

as Janam Kundali) is a map of the heavenly bodies, which shows

the positions of the planets and their relation at birth of a

newborn taking into account, the time and place of birth.

A birth chart is a must for any Vedic astrologer to

make predictions.

The Horoscope shows the sign of Zodiac and the

relative position of planets and nakshatras

positioned in the twelve houses of the map. The

"houses" of the chart indicate specific areas of our

life in which actions will be performed, which will be

strong or weak depending on the nature and

situation of planets that influence them.

Origins of Astrology

• The positions of stars relative to the sun “predict” the agricultural seasons.

• The positions of stars can be used to tell time at night.

• The Babylonians and Egyptians early developed techniques for doing these.

Origins of Astrology

• First clear evidence in Babylonian civilization

• Astrology was used to tell future, together with other forms of divination, such as liver-looking

• Idea: gods communicate, if humans use the right techniques

• The process whereby someone looks at the stars to determine a forecast or horoscope is extremely varied.

• Daily horoscopes are rarely similar and usually differ greatly from each other.

• Compare the horoscopes you find in the magazine, to the one you find in the newspaper, to the one you find available on the shelf of the check-out counter at the grocery store. They are all different.

Facts about Astrology.

The Future is not ours to see

• Astrology is no more accurate in predicting

future events than mere chance.

• Horoscope predictions use generalities and are

usually very vague.

The James Randi Educational Foundation

in Florida offers a one-million-dollar prize to

anyone who can show, under proper

observing conditions, evidence of any

paranormal, supernatural, or occult power

or event. To date, no person has ever been

able to prove that they have paranormal

power and claim the prize.

Misuse of Astrology…

• It is sad to observe certain section of Astrologers involve in practices which induces fear and fatalism in masses, just for the sake of manipulating them to fulfill their own agendas.

• It is unfortunate that superstitions have been ruling over the minds of Indians in the name of Astrology

Critical Remark

• Astrological beliefs have often induced inaction, as

people have no courage to live the life and hence all

their efforts are geared towards avoiding the crisis in

life.

• As their astrologer told them of the forthcoming

difficulties, they gave up their efforts and rather

preferred to wait for the better times.

Only thing many people seem to have achieved

through astrology is to remain worried about their

forthcoming crisis and hiding in a cocoon to

safeguard themselves. But sadly, in this whole

process they miss the joy of accomplishing their

potential, because of the misuse of astrology by way

of presenting it as a tool for definitive predictions by

certain segment of Astrologers to fulfill their narrow

motives.

Renaissance Astrology

• Geronimo Cardano cast a horoscope for England’s King Edward 6:

– Illness at age 55

– But he died at 16!

• Cast own horoscope:

– Death at 75

– Fulfilled by suicide!

The Twin Problem

• Astrological horoscopes are based on the position of the planets & Zodiac at a person’s birth.

• Though identical twins often have very similar character, they sometimes have very different lives.

• Fraternal twins often have very different character.

• “Time twins” have very few similarities.

This is debatable

• Astrology is condemned by the Holy Book of almost every religion as an attempt to live without dependence on God.

• If you believe that God is there, then what is the need of astrology.

The End

Don’t fall in Trap! To Believe in astrology or not, the Choice is Yours…